Share of the population using the Internet in Democratic Republic of Congo
Democratic Republic of Congo: Share of the population using the Internet was 19.7% in 2024. ◆ Volatile
Share of the population using the Internet in Democratic Republic of Congo, 1990–2024
Source: World Telecommunication/ICT Indicators Database - International Telecommunication Union (ITU), via World Bank (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in % of population.
Analysis
Democratic Republic of Congo recorded 19.7% for share of the population using the internet in 2024. That is the highest value across all 29 years on record.
The figure is up 3.7% on the previous year and up 555.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of the population using the internet in Democratic Republic of Congo peaked at 19.7% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 0.0%, in 1990.
That places Democratic Republic of Congo 192nd out of 208 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Share of the population using the Internet in Democratic Republic of Congo, year by year
| Year | % of population | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 0.0% | — |
| 1996 | 0.0% | — |
| 1997 | 0.0% | +95.4% |
| 1998 | 0.0% | +95.7% |
| 1999 | 0.0% | +144.6% |
| 2000 | 0.0% | +484.4% |
| 2001 | 0.0% | +94.4% |
| 2002 | 0.1% | +708.6% |
| 2003 | 0.1% | +45.4% |
| 2004 | 0.2% | +45.4% |
| 2005 | 0.2% | +21.3% |
| 2006 | 0.3% | +24.4% |
| 2007 | 0.4% | +25.0% |
| 2008 | 0.4% | +18.9% |
| 2009 | 0.6% | +27.3% |
| 2010 | 0.7% | +28.6% |
| 2011 | 1.2% | +66.7% |
| 2012 | 1.7% | +40.0% |
| 2013 | 2.2% | +31.0% |
| 2014 | 3.0% | +36.4% |
| 2015 | 3.8% | +26.7% |
| 2016 | 10.1% | +165.8% |
| 2018 | 11.7% | +15.8% |
| 2019 | 13.0% | +11.4% |
| 2020 | 14.5% | +11.4% |
| 2021 | 16.2% | +11.4% |
| 2022 | 18.0% | +11.4% |
| 2023 | 19.0% | +5.4% |
| 2024 | 19.7% | +3.7% |
Democratic Republic of Congo compared with similar countries
- Democratic Republic of Congo's 19.7% is above the median for low income countries, which is 19.0%, 1.0× the median. (25 countries reporting)
- Democratic Republic of Congo's 19.7% is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 34.5%, 57% of the median. (48 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Share of the population using the Internet in Democratic Republic of Congo changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | +708.6% | 0.0% | 0.1% |
| 2000 | +484.4% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 5 |
| 2000s | 0.2% | 0.0% | 0.6% | 10 |
| 2010s | 5.3% | 0.7% | 13.0% | 9 |
| 2020s | 17.5% | 14.5% | 19.7% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Democratic Republic of Congo
- 189 Ethiopia 21.9% compare
- 190 Samoa 21.2% compare
- 191 Mozambique 20.5% compare
- 193 Malawi 19.0% compare
- 194 Papua New Guinea 18.8% compare
- 195 Madagascar 18.7% compare
More science & technology data for Democratic Republic of Congo
- Mobile landline subscriptions, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Mobile landline subscriptions, gaps filled 58.53 (2024)
- Mobile cellular subscriptions by country, per capita 0.5853 units per person (2024)
- Mobile cellular subscriptions by country, per unit of GDP 0.0008 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Mobile cellular subscriptions by country, gaps filled 63.96 million (2024)
- Mobile cellular subscriptions by country, per square kilometre 24.82 units per square kilometre (2023)
- Mobile landline subscriptions, annual growth rate 10.05 % change on previous year (2024)
- Mobile cellular subscriptions by country, annual growth rate 13.67 % change on previous year (2024)
- Scientific and technical journal articles 243.06 (2023)
- Scientific and technical journal articles, per capita 0 units per person (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of the population using the internet in Democratic Republic of Congo?
- Share of the population using the internet in Democratic Republic of Congo was 19.7% in 2024, according to World Telecommunication/ICT Indicators Database - International Telecommunication Union (ITU), via World Bank (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of the population using the internet recorded in Democratic Republic of Congo?
- The highest recorded value was 19.7% in 2024.
- What is the lowest share of the population using the internet recorded in Democratic Republic of Congo?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.0% in 1990.
- How does Democratic Republic of Congo rank for share of the population using the internet?
- Democratic Republic of Congo ranks 192nd out of 208 countries with data for 2024.
- Is share of the population using the internet rising or falling in Democratic Republic of Congo?
- Over the last ten years it is up 555.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Democratic Republic of Congo data come from?
- The figures come from World Telecommunication/ICT Indicators Database - International Telecommunication Union (ITU), via World Bank (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of the population using the Internet. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
Share of the population who used the Internet in the last three months.